Melody of the Heart
Chapter 14 – First Impressions Pt 1
Hands in his pants pockets, Sho skulked his way into some random store that sold games that looked interesting enough to waste some time in. He was disguised in a low cap and dark sunglasses, and he wasn't wearing his usual attention catching outfits, because he really didn't want to be recognized in his current mood.
He'd left the agency to go hang out with Mimori a.k.a. Pochiri, an up-and-coming actress from the same agency who thought she was in love with him, in her dressing room, but her incessant fan girl yapping had irked him more than eased him. So after giving her the obligatory kiss on the cheek to appease her, he got out of there and went home.
His mood dropped even more when he got home - there was no one waiting for him. Which was only natural since Shoko-san had gotten him his own apartment in the same building as her, so he could be close enough to keep an eye on but not raise any weird rumors or scandals. Contrary to her voluptuous looks and his flirtatious attitude towards her, Shoko Aki was a consummate professional, and took her role as his manager, and caretaker while under the agency since he was underage, very seriously. But even knowing that he lived alone, there was a small twinge near the middle of his chest that he could not place as he walked through the empty living room to his bedroom.
On top of that, his mind was still stuck on the nonsensical phone call from the morning, that just left too much to imagination, Sho just couldn't help feeling sulky. So, he dressed down into non-celebrity clothes and went to go take in some sights on his own, something he hadn't really done since he'd become the popular pop star he did.
Now, in the store, he looked over titles of games that he hadn't seen since he was younger. He remembered playing Soul Blazer on the SNES past his bedtime, Kyoko taking frequent peeks at the door to make sure his parents weren't coming while trying to convince him to stop playing and go to bed before he gets in trouble. He frowned at the memory of his childhood friend, who was one of the sources of his current mood.
Shaking the thought out, he moved on to the next game and started humming the Soul Blazer theme song, since he diverted his mind to pull up something else and his musician brain found the catchy tune at the tip of his memory. He was still humming as he glanced over some titles he didn't recognize when he heard a girl's voice from behind him.
"That's from Soul Blazer, isn't it?"
Sho turned around slowly, keeping his hat low. Hopefully he wouldn't be recognized.
"Yes, it's a really old game," he answered calmly.
"I've played it a few times. It's pretty addictive."
Behind the shades, Sho looked over the girl who was, unexpectedly, making small talk with him about games.
She was kind of plain looking, didn't look like she was wearing any make up, and was dressed in a simple baby-T and a pair of casual jeans that looked very well worn. He noticed her really long straight black hair, which fell just below her waist, that was unadorned and two very simple earring studs on her earlobes.
Her face was pretty enough, nothing breathtaking or special, but his eyes were immediately drawn to one thing – she had the most amazing emerald eyes.
"Anyone ever tell you that it was rude to stare?" the mysterious green-eyed girl said to him, a smirk on her face.
Taken aback at being called out for staring, Sho quickly averted his gaze and only managed to lamely say, "What? Oh, sorry."
The corner of her lips curved upwards, and she let out a small laugh. He turned his eyes back at her at the sound. It wasn't a coy giggle like his fan-girls were always making. And it struck a chord in him. It reminded him of Kyoko before she hated him.
Before he could wallow in that thought, his company sheepishly said to him, a light blush on her cheeks, "Actually, I was just teasing. You know, I can't see past those shades. But, thanks, I think."
Just now remembering that he was wearing shades, he hurriedly pulled them off. In the split second that he did so, he also remembered why he was wearing the shades.
He cringed as he thought that he had just exposed the Number 1 music celebrity Fuwa Sho, as a lame geek that played video games and didn't know how to talk to girls. But the girl didn't react with any gasp of realization or fan-girl screams.
Without the shades of the sunglasses marring his vision, his eyes finally made eye-contact with hers. The brightness of her eyes astounding him, he did not realize it, but he was definitely staring again.
She laughed that laugh again, still a shade pink, but she waved her hand in front of his face and said, "Hello? You okay? It looked like that sudden intake of light when you took off your sunglasses may have stunned you like the zombies to the Song of the Sun."
It took four beats for Sho to make the connection of her reference to the Zelda: Ocarina of Time game. And it was his turn to laugh.
This whole encounter with this stranger had been one sort of ridiculous to another, and Sho couldn't hold back his mirth. First, he found himself attracted to a relatively plain looking girl that had powerful green eyes that seemed to draw him to them. Then, he practically stammered and admitted to staring at the girl behind sunglasses. Then he removed said sunglasses and carelessly risked exposing his identity. And then he basically acknowledged the fact that he was a gamer when he was able to understand her reference to the popular N64 game he played a few years back. Not his everyday experience, that's for sure.
Feeling a little more like himself after laughing at himself, he flashed her one of his more usual smiles that usually had his fan-girls swooning.
But far from fainting, the object of his attention was no longer smiling, a distant expression on her face, dimming the earlier radiant eyes. Concerned at the abrupt change, he hurriedly asked her, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
As if his question surprised her out of her thoughts, she looked pensive for a few moments and then said evasively, "Hmm, I guess not."
"No, tell me," Sho insisted, his earlier sour mood forgotten and replaced by a mix of curiosity and apprehension at his peculiar acquaintance.
Her smirk returned slightly as she said, "Hey, look at that, you can make conversation after all. I had you pinned as one of those quiet guys that only talk to people anonymously behind characters."
He toyed with and pulled down the flap of his cap a little. "I'm usually a lot cooler than this." And even he had to admit that that line and his behavior since meeting this mystery girl has been anything but cool and impressive. He wasn't sure what it was, but being around someone who seemed like she didn't know who he was was rather refreshing – though his pop-star pride hurt just a little that he wasn't recognized and admired by everyone. But today, it felt right.
Her smile returned fully now, "Uh huh, sure."
"Do you normally start random conversations with guys in game stores?" he retorted.
Exaggerating her movement to show that she was thinking about a response to his question, she answered smoothly, "No, not particularly, though I have heard people use game related pick up lines."
"But really, no. I heard the humming and hadn't played that game in a while, that it felt like the natural thing to say," she said with a shrug.
"And to answer your earlier question, no, nothing is wrong. I guess I was a little over sensitive because of an earlier conversation with someone else. I thought you were laughing at me for being an otaku," she continued.
"Huh? No, I was really laughing at myself, because I caught the reference," Sho admitted frankly, "It's funny how some things stay with you even though it's been a while."
"The game and the tunes are so memorable, but, yeah, the music in that game is one of the things that really drew me," she responded.
"You're into music? J-Pop?" he asked, trying to figure out if she really didn't recognize him or was just being coy.
"No, none of that," she answered with a wave of the hand, "I don't keep up with the trends. I like a lot of the game melodies. Zelda songs are my absolute favorite."
"By the way, I never introduced myself. Sorry, I'm Miki," she greeted, outstretching her hand to him for a handshake.
Unused to the casual gesture from a person without a Y chromosome and because she introduced herself with only her first name, he unthinkingly did the same as he shook her hand, "I'm Sho."
"Sho-kun then?" she asked, requesting permission to address him more familiarly, considering the circumstances.
He nodded, his brief hesitation gone since it seemed that she really doesn't know him as Fuwa Sho, Japan's top musician, and then said more eloquently, "It is nice to meet you, Miki-chan."
"It was nice to meet you, too."
He was about to ask her what she was doing here, when a sudden vibration from the cell phone in his pocket required his attention. Whipping it out, he looked at the flashing screen and saw his manager's name screaming at him. And the time printed in the corner of said blinking display.
"Crap!" he exclaimed. He slid the still vibrating phone in his pocket and continued in a hurry, "Sorry, I have to go. Do you have a phone?"
He stuck his hand out to her, palm up, and she reactively answered by putting her phone in his hand before she'd realized what she'd done.
He quickly flipped open the device and pushed a few buttons. Then, he returned it to its owner and said, "I just called my phone on yours, so I have your number now, and you have mine. I gotta run. See ya."
Not waiting for a response from her, he jetted out of store.
Left holding the returned phone in her hand, she thought about what just happened and broke into a grin.
That move should be added into a dating sim, the green-eyed girl thought.
A/N: Weeeee! This chapter turned out to be a Sho Side Story chapter! Many apologies for those that were expecting revelations of the pink envelopes, but that'll have to wait till next chapter. This one just wanted to be written, as you may be able to tell from the 2-day new chapter update! Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing as usual. I hope Sho does not seem too OOC. Till the next chapter! - Mimi